ill Bloom (Crudup) hates his father, Edward (Finney). Dad is always telling crazy stories about his "life." These stories are ostensibly tales of his youth, but as they involve mythological creatures, everyone knows not to take them literally. Most people enjoy these flights of fancy, but Will feels they are elaborate concoctions that hide the truth. When Edward continues telling stories at Will's wedding, Will shuts Dad out of his life.
Some years later, Will gets a phone call that Edward is dying, so he travels back home to reconcile their relationship. He's frustrated to find that dad is still telling stories. The stories are visualized as young Edward (McGregor) grows up a high school hero, goes on journeys with giants and witches, and meets the love of his life (Lohman) while working at a circus run by a werewolf.
As the film moves between present-day deathbed drama and Edward's stories, Will becomes increasingly upset that his father won't use his last moments alive to share some facts about his life. Edward and his wife (Lange) hope that Will can appreciate that the stories represent something greater than fact. They're symbolic of important truths, such as love at first sight and acceptance of others.
Will does some extra investigating to find out anything he can about his father, even what he suspects is bad news. But when he finds a woman with whom he suspects Edward had an affair, she tells him more fanciful stories. They still involve giants and witches, but they convince Will that Edward was not hiding a dark, dirty secret.
Prince of Tides meets Edward Scissorhands
Big Fish is the most uplifting deathbed movie ever. Most movies dealing with dying characters relish in the sadness of such a thing. This movie uses the motif of a dying father to deliver a positive message about parental relationships and an inspiring philosophy claiming that truth is more important than facts. It says that death can bring the greatest resolution of all to any strained relationship. Granted, it's not saying you should go out and die to solve all your communication issues, but for a movie that begins with cancer, it ends on a pretty happy beat.
Tim Burton is back. After several disappointing films, he's finally found another story with the heart to match its images. Planet of the Apes and Sleepy Hollow looked good, but had nothing but action and violence propelling the narratives. Big Fish tells an exciting story that is also steeped in emotional meaning.
One of the most thrilling aspects of the film is its old-school visual effects. The giant looks like he's really towering over McGregor because he's not CG'ed in there. It was a perspective trick. Characters wrestle an animatronic fish in the river and you can tell they're really holding onto it, not just mimicking for technicians to add a fish later. These old tricks work, and more current filmmakers should employ them before relying on computers.
McGregor makes an engaging hero as he smiles through tasks like shoveling elephant poop. Finney carries over the same zest in his scenes. Crudup is a bit hard-edged. It seems like he's overly harsh about this storytelling, though that is how the character was written. The women have little to do but give the men people to speak exposition to. Lohman and Lange bring lovely feminine touches to their scenes, but could have had more to do. Only Bonham-Carter gets a fleshed-out character, as both the witch and the witch's daughter. It doesn't feel gender-biased, though. It just happens that it's a father-son story.
This film is The Prince of Tides meets Edward Scissorhands. You've got the storytelling/family history aspect of Tides and the visual whimsy of Scissorhands. It's not as pastel, but scenes of the utopian town are especially bright, and the various creatures represent simple magic. It's a welcome change of pace from the complications of elves, orcs and hobbits.
